Don’t look now, but the Cheechoo train has pulled into the station.
With soft hands and a hard nose for the net, San Jose Sharks winger Jonathan
Cheechoo led the NHL back onto the ice in 2005-06 with one of history’s
most unexpected goal-scoring championships. A full-blooded member of the
Cree Nation, Cheechoo has brought a whole new fan base to the league,
and reminds people everywhere why they love hockey. This is his story

GROWING
UP

Jonathan Cheechoo
was born to Carol and Mervin Cheechoo on July 15, 1980 in Moose Factory
in Ontario, Canada. (Click
here for today's sports birthdays.)
The oldest of three kids, he had a sister, Kari, and a brother, Jordan.

Most everyone on Moose
Factory—a remote 1,300-acre outpost located in the mouth of the
Moose River, just south of the southern end of James Bay, roughly 550
miles north of Toronto—was related to Jonathan. Indeed, the Cheechoos
are part of the Cree Nation, a tribe that has lived on the island for
centuries. One out of ten residents share Jonathan's last name.

Jonathan played his
youth hockey games in Moosonee, three miles across the water. The only
way to make this trip in the summer is by boat. In winter, the locals
use a snowmobile or light truck. In fall, when the ice is forming, and
in spring, when it’s breaking up, you don’t get to Moose factory
unless you own a helicopter. To travel to Moosonee from anywhere else
you can find on a Canadian map requires a five-hour drive and a five-hour
train ride.

In this isolated environment,
Jonathan first started playing hockey at age three. His father would construct
a small rink in the backyard, where he could practice his shooting and
stickhandling. He took 500 shots a day—until the ice melted in the
spring.

Another favorite
activity was hunting. Jonathan and his dad would go after geese in the
spring and moose in the fall. They also shot rabbits and partridge. It
wasn’t for the sport—it was for the meat. Fresh meat was expensive
(and not all that fresh) in the store where the Cheechoos shopped.

Jonathan’s
father encouraged him to play up, promising his son if he worked harder
than the older boys he would quickly surpass them. And sure enough, Jonathan
did just that. Anyone who knew hockey could see that his combination of
soft hands and tenacity around the net would take him far.

That was relative,
of course. Jonathan actually hadn’t been anywhere yet. He hadn't
played in a true organized league, with coaching and travel. Still, like
many young hockey stars in remote parts of Canada, Jonathan had to move
away to improve.

The next level for
Jonathan was Bantam. This would require him to play in Timmins, the nearest
city to Moose Factory. Many Cree seek opportunities here; in fact, Jonathan’s
own parents had actually lived there as kids.

At 14, Jonathan was
finally being tested against good teams and players. W year later, he
joined a club in Kapuskasing, a mostly French-speaking community. The
language barrier made being away from home seem even lonelier.

In 1996-97, Jonathan
was old enough to play in B-level in the Midwestern Ontario Junior Hockey
League. He suited up for the Kitchener Dutchmen and scored 35 goals in
43 games. Thanks to the tight quarters of his backyard rink, he had become
an excellent grinder. He also displayed marvelous touch and a sharpshooter’s
eye.

ON
THE RISE

After the season,
eligible for the Ontario Hockey League draft, Jonathan was selected by
Belleville Bulls. Mervin spoke to some knowledgeable hockey people who
told him that the only thing that would hold his son back was his skating.
Between the backyard rink and the limited competition he had faced as
a child, Jonathan was not as evolved as he should have been.

Mervin appealed to
Cree First Nations officials and to local businesses for funds to send
Jonathan to hockey school that summer. They raised $10,000—more
than enough for a crash course in Toronto. Jonathan returned a changed
player, and began his junior hockey career in 1997-98. In 64 games, he
registered 31 goals and 45 assists.

Jonathan Cheechoo,
2006 The Hockey ews

That
spring, Jonathan was taken by the Sharks with the 29th overall pick. More
than 100 friends and relatives made the trip to the Marine Midland Arena,
and when his name was called they blew the roof off the place.

Not yet ready for
the NHL, Jonathan returned to the Bulls and had another good year, scoring
35 times with 47 helpers. He was a monster in the playoffs, leading Belleville
to the OHL finals. The Bulls were up 3-2 in the series but lost Game 6
when Jonathan was ejected for fighting. He returned in Game 7 to score
five goals to give the team its first OHL championship.

In 1999-2000 Jonathan
logged a third season with Belleville. He scored 45 goals and added 46
assists. In three years with the club, he netted 111 goals.

The Sharks moved
Jonathan to their top minor-league affiliate in 2000-01, Kentucky of the
American Hockey League. There he worked on his skating, which was still
a bit of a jumble. The coaching staff streamlined his stride and eliminated
some wasted energy, and it showed immediate results. Jonathan scored 32
goals and had 34 assists in 75 games.

That spring, the Cheechoos
decided to move south to the mining city of Sudbury. Mervin found a better-paying
job, while Carol could take classes at a local college and Jonathan’s
siblings could get a better education. To this day, they return to Moose
Factory, along with Jonathan, each summer to reconnect with their friends
and family.

Jonathan returned
to the minors in 2001-02—this time with San Jose’s new AHL
affiliate, the Cleveland Barons. An ankle injury and concussion limited
him to 53 games, but he still recorded 21 goals and 25 assists. After
the season, Stephane Matteau left the Sharks, creating a vacancy at right
wing.

Jonathan was now ready
to contribute at the NHL level. He made the Sharks out of camp in 2002-03,
though he played sparingly at first. Soon after his first NHL goal—a
game-winner against the Nashville Predators—the team sent him back
to Cleveland for a month for some fine tuning. He returned to finish with
nine goals and seven assists in 66 NHL games.

All was not well in
San Jose, however. The Sharks missed the playoffs for the first time in
five years, and fired coach Darryl Sutter and GM Dean Lombardi after the
season. They were replaced by coach Ron Wilson and GM Doug Wilson. Jonathan
had no idea what to expect from his first NHL experience, but the turmoil
at the team’s top level caught him by surprise. He was relieved
when the new coach quickly took charge, and gave him an off-season condition
to trim some of his baby fat and further strengthen his skating.

Jonathan Cheechoo, 2005 Power
Play

Jonathan
made the San Jose roster for good in 2003-04. He spent much of the year
on a line with two of the team’s oldest players, Mike Ricci and
Scott Thornton, and learned a ton from the veterans. Jonathan was selected
to play in the Young Stars game during All-Star Weekend, and performed
masterfully against the NHL’s other young guns. Three times, he
gave Anaheim rookie Joffrey Lupul perfect setups, and collected four assists
for his troubles, as he was also involved in a Raffi Torres goal. The
Western Conference won easily, 7-3.

Jonathan ended the
season with a very respectable 28 goals, including—significantly—nine
game-winners. His most memorable lamp-lighter was actually a game-tying
tally against the Stars in a late-season contest. Dallas held a 3-0 lead
with six minutes left and the Sharks rallied for a miraculous comeback.
He also scored the goal that made it 3-2 a minute earlier.

The nose for the net
Jonathan had displayed as a junior was starting to manifest itself at
the pro level. The Sharks finished the year second in the Western Conference
with 43 victories and 104 points—up from 14th place the year before.
They beat the Phoenix Cyotesin the first round, then opened a 3-2 lead
on the Colorado Avalanche. Jonathan authored the team’s prettiest
goal of the season, threading the puck between his legs and into the net
past a shocked Tommy Salo. The Avs crawled back into the series, including
a 2-1 OT victory in Game 6. In the decider, Colorado scored first and
held on fora 1-0 win, sending Jonathan and his teammates home in disappointing
fashion.

After a year without
hockey, the Sharks set their sights on maintaining their winning form.
Jonathan started the 2005-06 campaign slowly, but that changed with a
stunning trade on November 30th when San Jose aquired Joe Thornton.

MAKING
HIS MARK

Mike Ricci, 1990-91 Upper Deck

Jonathan
was paired with Thonrton, and the two clicked immediately. Suddenly both
players became scoring machines. In a March 25th game against the Minnesota
Wild, Jonathan scored the first and last goals in a 5-1 victory. They
were his 44th and 45th of the season, giving him the San Jose franchise
record. In an April game against the Coyotes, he scored twice, 44 seconds
apart, to reach and then surpass 50 goals. Jonathan finished the season
with 56—edging Jaromir Jagr for the NHL lead—and added 37
assists.

Jonathan may still
play in relative obscurity, but hockey fans got to know him from his late-night
highlights in '05-06. Even in his three-second goal-scoring clips on ESPN
and other highlight shows, there is no mistaking the sheer joy he experiences
from putting the puck in the net. After every goal Jonathan scores, he
smiles like it was the first of his career. It is a much-needed reminder
of what hockey means to fans nationwide. Hopefully, Jonathan Cheechoo
will never lose that.

JONATHAN
THE PLAYER

Jonathan Cheechoo,
2006 Upper Deck SP

It's
uncanny. Jonathan is always around the puck. This has been true since
his youth hockey days. Jonathan instinctively skates toward areas that
produce the best scoring opportunities. These patches of ice are manned
by some of the NHL’s most dangerous players, but with grit and brains—plus
the tightened interference rules in 2005-06— Jonathan is able to
find plenty of room to operate.

Jonathan has the knack
of raising his game and sharpening his senses when his team needs a goal
the most. His flare for netting game-tying and game-winning goals is remarkable
for a young player. He is absolutely fearless and seems impervious to
pressure. Once thought of us a valuable role player, Jonathan has emerged
as a star the Sharks can build around.